Maximum Ride: New Secrets, New Lies
by Fearless Wingling
Summary: After the encounter and destruction of Max II, Max and the flock are in hiding, but not long after, problems occur
1. New enemies to fight, new scars to heal

**Sheik: **Hello, if you've read my one-shot story, you probably know I like Maximum Ride. Probably because our lives are almost exactly alike. (_Read profile if you have no idea what I'm talking about_) I was bored and thought, "Hey! Why don't I try writing a fake third Maximum Ride, but add my own characters?" Well, I hope you enjoy this.

**I don't own James Patterson or Maximum Ride. I do own the mysterious creature, though, and anything else not associated with James Patterson.

* * *

**

My life has to stay secret. Actaully, our lives have to stay hidden. They have to be hidden within the trees that are supposed to be our haven, for now that is. If people were to know about us, things would get messy. Really messy. My flock and I are very important to people. In fact, we're like priceless gems to some twisted people out there.

Doctors, scientists, white coats they want us. Everything is so complicated because of them. I haven't seen anything outside these trees because of them. We have to go into hiding because of those people, because of what I am. What we are.

Sorry, I must have completely lost everybody out there reading this, but that's the point for now. Actually, I don't even know if there is a point to this. Isn't that what a story is all about? Well, I guess I can let you in now. Please watch your first step. It's one heck of a doosey!

"Max!" Nudge called to me. She must have been somewhere in the downstairs living room, but I was on the third floor in my room. "Max! Gazzy won't stop making fun of me and I asked him so many times to stop, but he won't! Aren't people supposed to stop when you asked them too? That's what everyone around here keeps telling me, so shouldn't he? Why won't anybody ever stop when I ask them too?"

"Will you be quiet?" Fang not so much yelled at her, but spoke in a volume louder than he usually would.

_God, thank you Fang. I owe you._ Of course, I would never tell him that. Pulling my pillow over my head again, I tried to drift off into sleep. _Sleep._

"Max." A hushed voice called to me.

I groaned, pulled the pillow off my head then looked up to see Iggy standing there. He looked a little worried. "What is it Ig?" He held something up in his hand. My alarm clock. No, I'm sorry, my broken alarm clock. I quickly looked at my desk then snapped at him. "Iggy! Why did you take my alarm clock?"

He placed the completely useless piece of metal on my bed and shrugged. "I tried making something useful out of it. Actually, that's not why I'm here."

I sat up, stretching, already over the clock. "Then why are you here?"

"I think somebody's found the house." He informed in a dead-serious tone.

Stopping in mid-stretch, I stared at him. "You sure? I thought for sure this place was abandoned."

Shrugging again, he motioned for the door. "I made some motion sensors and placed them all over the woods. About four of them went off."

_Not good. Not good. Not good. We've just been resting for three days! Is that fake Max here again? Did she live that sonic blast with Jeb?_ Bolting out of my room, I stared down the railing that revealed the other floors. There were four floors to this amazing building. "Fang, Gazzy, Angel, Nudge! Trouble in the woods! Time for a search!" After giving the commands, I ran down the hall to the window at the end of the passage. It was open, the way I left it in case of a quick escape.

I lunged through it like a missile leaving its halo. When I felt the open mountain air on my face, I smiled and inhaled. How I loved this. Relaxing my whole body, I allowed my mind to take over. The rushing wind pushing my hair, my clothes rippling wave-like, and the familiar tug on my shoulders and back.

Flapping open from the force of the wind, my wings unfolded then fanned out. I began to beat them, pushing the air out of the way. _Flapping counters gravity._ This was a need to know basis thing for us. Flight would be impossible if this wasn't true.

With my wings keeping me aloft, I flew up and over the house and waited for the others. Sure enough, they came barreling out of the house in an almost orderly fashion. Fang leading in the front with Iggy behind him. Then it was Nudge followed by Gazzy and Angel. Their wings unhinged and flapped open. They all caught the same rising vortex and rode it. We all met above the house and made the plans.

Ha! What plans? It seems all we've been doing lately is flying to and from wherever we wanted. Well, sort of.

"Which way did your sensor things track the intruders?" I asked while I scanned the skies for flying Erasers. Darn those things for being able to fly. That's our thing.

_Does everything have to be a problem?_ My Voice asked.

_Well, it wouldn't really be a problem if they were meant to fly. We'd be prepared for it._ I countered. Of course, it didn't say anything back. "Iggy, which way are the intruders?"

"Western. About three miles out from the house." He answered, his powerful wings beating hard but steadily.

I took in the information and was already planning something. "All right, if it's an Eraser, bring it as far from the house as you can, but shout loud enough for us to follow. We'll meet up and fight together. They are getting better at flying, as Angel proved by reading their minds. Their flapping is becoming instinct to them, like us."

"What if it's just some wandering hiker?" Total asked. The Scottish looking dog was seated comfortably inside Iggy's jacket. Hey, better him than me.

"Then avoid them." I answered, eyeing everybody with a sense of significance. "We've had enough problems with humans. There's no need for anymore problems." With that, I tipped backwards then took off for the western part of the trees. I ducked into the green covering and the others followed me. Their flaps almost silent against the sounds of the woods. Birds sang, deer ran, squirrels quarreled in the branches, and foxes yipped. I was listening for anything out of the ordinary.

"_Get away from me!_" An ear-splitting shriek cut through the air and hurt my ears. I had to cover them for a second to make the ringing go away. That is, until the scream sounded again. "_Get away you jerk!_"

"Oh God, Max, do you hear that?" Nudge asked with her ears covered. I didn't look back at her. There was no need to. After all, my eyes were set on what was going on in front of me.

"Max, what the heck is that?" Fang asked with bewildered eyes. I was just as lost. What was in front of us wasn't an Eraser. I didn't know what it was. Whatever the thing was, it saw us and was flying right at us.

"Duck and cover!" I shouted as I folded my wings to drop toward the ground. While falling it past right over us. I looked up and got a good look at the black thing.

It had the body of a very powerful Eraser, maybe more some, but there were major body differentiates. Like the fact it had big hooked ears on the side of its head, instead of the canine kind of an Eraser. Its muzzle wasn't really a muzzle but a snout that showed a big nose and two very sharp fangs.

The wings were probably the most fascinating thing.

Instead of the big, leathery kind that the wolf people have surgically implanted to their bodies, this thing seemed to be born with wings morphed like a bats'. Growing from its back and shoulders and leading down its arms were where the wings were. I could see where the arms were, but they were wings too. The hands seemed to work, it's just that the fingers seemed a little longer and had claws. Leading off the hands were the rest of the wing. It looked like a giant bat!

When I was about to hit the ground, I snapped open my wings and surged upward, expecting a fight. The thing, though, had flown away. It was already above the trees and far in the sky. Gazzy flew over to me, big blue eyes wide. "What the heck was that?"

I was curious and afraid at the same time. Had Jeb and the others made a new species of hunter? Was this another thing we were to be tested on? I seriously hoped not. Angel flew close to me, our wingtips touching. "It was chasing something." She told me in a voice just above a whisper.

"What was it chasing? Where is it?" I asked. How did she know it was chasing something? Oh yeah, the screaming.

She turned her head and pointed toward a cluster of trees. "She's watching at us right now."

"She?" Gazzy dropped closer to the trees. "Hey! Who's there?" Sure enough, we heard the quick scrambling and snapping of twigs as whoever it was ran away. "Wait!" Of course, the little guy took off after her.

"What the heck's going on? What's so shocking?" Iggy asked, completely lost.

Fang explained. "There's a new breed of flying bat thing and Angel found it was chasing something and Gazzy's chasing it now."

"Her!" Angel corrected. "Now, come on!" She flapped her beautiful white wings and followed her brother. They both had set chase to something we had no idea of what it was.

_Great. Just great. What next?_

"Oh my God!" Gazzy shouted at the top of his lungs.

_God dang it!_ "We're coming Gazzy!" I called and took off into the trees.

"Where are they? How come Gazzy shouted just now? What was that big bat thing? Are we in more danger?" Nudge asked with nervousness clear in her voice.

"Nudge, let's go and find out." Iggy said with reassurance, but I could hear the wariness in his voice.

The two weren't far from where we were, but the trees had thinned considerably and there was a river. Angel and Gazzy were standing next to the river, their wings half folded behind them. A sign they didn't know whether to fly off or not. They were staring into some cattails. There were many shrubs around the river, a perfect hiding spot for some predator.

"Guys! What's wrong?" I landed and ran to them. Angel threw up her hands, motioning for me to stop. I did then crept forward. Fang, Nudge, and Iggy landed right behind me and walked beside me. For once, Nudge was keeping quiet.

We all made it to the little ones, that's when Gazzy put his finger to his mouth, the universal sign for _be quiet_. He then moved aside some of the cattails and I saw what was hiding within.

I couldn't help it. I let out a shout of shock at what it was. _Oh my God! What have those sick jerks done?_


	2. Can I believe what stands before my eyes

**Sheik: **Next chappie! Sorry I haven't updated for a while! I had to go someplace.

**I am not in the owning of James Patterson or anything of Maximum Ride. Everything else, I do own. Deal.

* * *

**

There was a girl crouching there. Her eyes were wide when Gazzy moved the brush back. She inhaled a great lungful of air, her mouth opened wide, then she screamed. "_Ahhhhhhh!_" If it weren't for my pride, I would have keeled over right there. While she was still screaming, I struggled to open my eyes to stare at her again. I didn't have a chance to see her again because she kicked away from us, running through the river then taking off into the woods.

"Come on!" I blurted out, my ears still ringing, running through the river after the girl. Well, I think she's a girl. "It's all right! We're not going to hurt you!" Next thing I knew, Fang flew past me and dropped onto the poor thing. That's when the girl's scream rose at least three times in pitch and volume. How can she scream so loud? "Fang, stop!"

"I've got her!" He called to us, the girl in his arms. She was giving him heck, though. He had his arms wrapped around her arms, keeping them stuck to her sides while she thrashed wildly. She bit, screamed, kicked then she broke down and started to cry.

"Stop it Fang!" Angel shouted as she ran over. "Let her go! Now!" By the way she looked and sounded, we all knew she was prepared to control his mind. "I said now!" When she stopped, her beautiful blond hair whipped in front her, giving her an almost bewitching appearance. Everyone stared at her, completely forgetting about the weeping child in Fang's arms.

Slowly, Fang let the girl go. She kicked away from him and hid behind a couple trees. Angel walked over to the trees and crouched. She then unfolded her wings, letting them spread to their full length around her. "It's all right."

I looked at Fang and saw a bunch of feathers around his feet. Then I looked back at Angel. _What is she doing?_ All I could do is stand there and take in what was happening and trying to understand what the girl was. What she looked like. How she looked that way. Who had done that to her? Who else? I guess Jeb and the other whitecoats are still trying to play God.

_Don't judge before you actually understand the story._ My Voice said. I just rolled my eyes and continued to watch.

The girl peeked out from behind the trees and I thought I saw her smile. Then my eyes must have widened farther than normal human eyes could sustain. Unfolding with an enticing whispery sound was a wing and it came from behind the tree, where the girl was hiding. That's when I knew my eyes weren't playing tricks on me when she was thrashing and that explained the feathers around Fang's feet. They were hers. The girl had wings! Wait…

"Did I just hear wings?" Iggy asked, his wings half folded behind him. He seemed really uneasy, maybe because he was almost deafened like the rest of us. Nudge wasn't saying anything. She looked scared. Really scared. Like Iggy, her wings were too half folded.

Before I could answer him, the girl moved out from behind the tree and stood straight. All our jaws dropped. If this was a girl, she had no breasts. Not because she looked to be only twelve or so. No, she didn't even have any nipples! And her chest depth looked to be at least two or three times deeper than ours. That's not what shocked us. It was… It was her wings! They weren't connected to her back like ours. Hers were…Hers were like a bird's!

They were connected to her arms somehow, but you could see her arms worked fine. She had hands, even though her thumb looked a little longer. It looked as ifher wingsgrew from behind her shoulders and the middle of her back. The wrist of the wingbent atthe top of her handsand folded out like a real bird's.

"Wow." That was the first word out of Nudge's mouth.

Indeed, wow.The girl's wings were lovely. Her flight and primary feathers were a dark rusty brown, but glowed within with a glinting raven black. The very wingtips were silver, which took my breath away. They looked like real silver!

The undersides of her wings were lined with what looked like soft secondary feathers. Soft brown piers speckled with brown and black. Maroon splashes lined where the wrist bent on the wing. Where her skin showed through the wing, was very pale, but was visibly rosy pink with flowing blood. It was cool how well her skin melded so smoothly with the feather and wing. The color even melded.

Angel smiled and walked over to her then spread her wings out to their full length. She had a proud wingspan of ten feet. The girl mimicked, lifting her arms and spreading her wings all the way out. When she lifted her arms, she, for some reason, extended her index fingers. That's when I saw the rest of her wings spread from her hand. She must have had abouta twelve feet wingspan.

"Iggy, I'm so sorry you can't see this." Gazzy murmured. "This girl has no boobies like a normal girl and no nipples, but she has wings, man!"

"She's a winged experiment like us?" Iggy asked, sounding a little disappointed.

The little guy shook his head. "I don't think so. Her wings are connected to her arms somehow!"

"She doesn't have hands? Just wings?"

"No, she has hands and fingers, but-"

"Think of a human diagram. Now picture hawk wings connected to that human." Fang tried helping. "The hands are near the top of the wing where it folds like when the bird lands." I wasn't even paying full attention to Fang speak. That didn't matter. All that mattered was that I was looking at this girl who seemed more bird-like than we did.

"Angel." I called to her.

She looked back at me and smiled. "We have a new friend." Then she flapped her pretty white wings. She wasn't trying to fly. No, just flapping them for the fun of it. The girl mimicked again, but she actually hovered off the ground. Her feet three feet off the ground, her long raven black hair hung at the back of her knees. She looked stunning really!

I walked toward the bird girl. My legs feeling like rubber under me. When I reached her, she landed and smiled at me. Her stunning bright green eyes searched mine, as if trying to see if I was friend or foe. I hoped I wasn't seen as a foe to her.

Inhaling slowly, I tried to speak calmly. "What is your name?" She continued to smile, her bright green eyes sparkling. Then she turned away from me and spun in step. I just watched, the rest of the flock's eyes on me and the girl. Angel just watched with a smile of her own. How on earth could she be so calm about this?

"Max, is this girl for real? Are those real wings? Why isn't she wearing any clothes? How come she isn't answering you? We know she can talk, we heard her. Girl, why don't you answer Max?" Nudge started spouting questions, and ended asking the girl herself.

The girl stopped twirling and folded her wings back against her arms. Her silver wingtips tucked snuggly against each other and stuck off somewhat from her elbow. She looked at Nudge and tilted her head a little. I couldn't help but think how cute that looked. _Stop thinking such nonsense! We don't even know who or what this girl is!_

_Again with your judging. Listen to the story first._ The Voice oh-so-kindly stepped in.

I didn't have the patience to argue with it, so I just turned my attention back to the girl. "Please, we want to now your name." Before we could figure out if she was going to answer or not, a crashing sound caught us off-guard. I whipped back and saw the strange bat thing flying at us. "Up and away! Gazzy, help Iggy!" Looking back at the girl, she had her wings unfolded already. "Come with us."

"Come on!" Angel tugged on the girl's hand and they both took off into the air. I couldn't help but notice how more accurate the girl was at taking off and flying. Beating my wings as fast as I could, I was in the air and leading the rest of my flock up and out of the trees. Something told me evading this thing in the trees would prove futile. It looked born to fly like us! Or, like that girl. "Iggy, do you have it?" I called back at Iggy and Gazzy.

Gazzy stared at me. "It's back at the house." He answered, looking a little panicked.

_Crap!_ I looked ahead and saw the girl hovering in one spot then I saw she was trying to lead us somewhere. "Follow the girl!" Everyone changed their course and flew straight for the raven-haired girl. She whipped around and took off straight into the air, rocketing for the sun. We all tried keeping up. For some reason we had a harder time keeping up with her flickering movements. Maybe because her body was sleeked and designed with her wings to turn and plummet with ease she had a greater advantage than us. _No! I won't accept we have competition in the skies! The flying Erasers are something we can handle for now, but new bird kids who are greater flyers than us? No way!_

"Slow down!" Total yipped. "I'm getting sick!" He was still strapped into Iggy's coat.

"We can't dodge that thing!" Nudge shrieked when she looked back. Suddenly, the girl dropped into a dangerous kamikaze dive and we followed. We were moving at dangerous speeds and I was afraid Iggy was having a hard time with this. The poor guy can't see where he's going! Even with Gazzy and Fang's help!

That's when my worst fear happened. When we dived down into the trees, Iggy was separated from the flock in the bombardment of leaves and branches. "_**Iggy!**_" Angel screamed.

I was about to whip around and go at my new faster speed, but a maroon flash past me and darted after Iggy. _What is she doing? _

"_Chee-rup! Chee-rup!_" The girl was whistling loudly. She kept darting back and forth, evading the creature while whistling at Iggy. "_Chee-rup! Chee-rup!_" I close to thinking what she was doing was nuts, but then I saw Iggy fly straight at her and attack the creature. He kicked the thing right in the head! The thing let out a strangled yelp and backed off a little. "_Chee-rup! Chee-rup!_" She whistled again and flew at us. Iggy following close behind. I understood now. She was whistling for Iggy to find them.

_This girl. She can sound just like a bird. Can she mimic sounds like Gazzy, or is it something more?_ There was no time for deep thinking. The creature flew at us, its great leather wings beating away the air with ease, despite its size.

"What is that thing?" Nudge asked as we tried to escape it again.

"A Screecher!" The voice that answered was unfamiliar and it took me a minute to find it was the girl who answered. Her voice was so soft, but had a hint of stubbornness. Right now, I saw that her eyes didn't hold the child-like innocence they did when she looked at me. They now held a look of determination, deep hatred, and anger. Anger toward the creature maybe? She did know its name. Whatever a Screecher was.

An extremely sharp whistle cut through the air, stinging our ears. I looked back to check on my flock and saw the thing, the Screecher, stop chasing us and hover in the air. It then turned around and flew toward the whistle. We all slowed and banked in a tall oak tree, all of us choosing a sturdy branch to perch. Okay, we just sat on our branches to catch our breath, the girl really perched.

She looked down at us, her intelligent bright green eyes on us. Then she smiled and spoke. "You guys all right?" This girl finally spoke more than two words to us, and she actually cared if we were all right! I was astounded. Much more than if Fang spoke. Which is very rare in his case. The speaking thing anyway.

Swallowing nothing but dryness, I spoke to the girl, hoping to get answer this time. "Yes, we're all right. Are you?"

She shifted position to sit on the branch, her slender legs and feet dangling. "Yep, just dandy." Her voice was light and cheerful, even after that traumatic moment.

Inhaling slowly, I hoped she would answer again. "What is your name?"

"My name?" Her head tilted to the side a little, her long hair sliding a bit off her shoulder. Cute! She blinked twice. "I don't have a name."

_All right. All right. All right. Think Max. This girl is something different from us, but like us at the same time. Think of something we all want to know._ My thoughts were a buzz and the mysterious Voice was nowhere in thought. "What are you?" The words escaped my mouth before I could even think of what I said.

Her eyes closed a little, hurt filling them. She wrapped her feathery arms around her front and leaned back a little to face upward. "They said I was the new hope. They said I was special. They never told me what I was. I could never fly…" I could tell she was delving back into memories, but I wanted to know so many things! Who exactlywas this girl?

"Who are _they_?" Iggy asked, his closed eyes pointed up at the girl. "Doctors? Scientists? Whitecoats?"

Blinking rapidly, I saw she was fighting off tears. The same affect that happened to us when we thought back to those horrible days. This girl had been experimented on, but how advanced have they gotten since then to create something like her? Oh, ouch! Did I say something like her? I'm so glad I didn't say that out loud. That was almost mean to even think.

She sniffled then wiped her nose on her arm. "They wouldn't be happy if I spoke of them. You talk, you die. I don't want to die."

Angel fluttered up to the branch and hugged her. The girl wasn't fazed in the least. "We won't make you say anything."

"Hey Max?" Nudge asked. "What was that thing chasing us? That bat thing that was flying at us? How come he could fly so well without stumbling like an Eraser?" For once, I didn't know what to say. Sometimes I really thought back on this leader thing. The leader was always expected with an answer to everything. Which I really couldn't provide.

"I told you, it was a Screecher." The girl answered.

"What's a Screecher?" Gazzy asked as he clutched onto the branch.

She shrugged. "What you saw chasing us."

"Why was it after you?" Nudge asked, leaving it as one question.

Her eyes filled somewhat with worry. "It wanted to take me back."

_Hear her story, Max. You need to know._ The Voice told me.

_Shut up! I don't need your help as much as you think I do!_ I was getting more than a little annoyed with the Voice. "Iggy, was this section the only area where your motion sensors went off?"

"Yeah. Just here." He answered with a slight nod.

We needed to talk to this girl more. She seemed to know new things we would need to acknowledge to beat the bad guys. God, it seemed as if every new day brought new horrors and tests that I wished would only be dreams. Of course, this is reality and I had to live it.

Standing unsteadily on the branch, I spread my wings a bit. "Come on. You can stay with us for a while."

"What? You openly invite her, but when Angel wanted me in the beginning, you tried to change her mind? That's not fair!" Total whined from inside Iggy's jacket.

I gave him a look. Do I even need to say which one? "She is a girl. A human being. You're a dog. A flea-bitten mutt." Angel gave me a look of her own as Total growled a little. "Where else would she go?" I looked to the rest of the flock. Fang seemed a little reluctant, but he nodded. Gazzy was still a little wide-eyed as he nodded in agreement. Iggy shrugged and nodded as well. Once he got a feel of her wings, maybe he'd seem a little more comfortable.

"Yeah! She is so cool looking! Look at her wings!" She fluttered on the other side of the girl. "We have to give you a name. We can't just keep calling you girl. What can we call you?" She felt the girl's wings and squealed. "They're so soft! And what a pretty color! Were you born like this? Are there others like you? How come we have different wings than you?"

"Nudge." I warned placidly. Yeah, you heard what I said. Placidly.

She smiled nervously. "Sorry."

"Home." Fang nudged in.

"Yes, let's go. There might be Erasers out here for all we know." I agreed and leaped off the branch. My wings opened and caught the wind. I glided effortlessly forward then up, a small air stream guiding me all the way. It was as simple as that. I looked back and saw everyone follow suit. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy then Angel.

The girl stood there for a second, seeming to be deep in thought. "You talk, you die. Maybe I'll die." I heard her hushed words as she dove off the branch. Her stunning wings unfolded from her arms, and she was airborne.


	3. You tell a truth then speak a lie

**I don't own James Patterson.

* * *

**

"You don't trust her that much already do you?" Fang asked as we landed on the back lawn of the four story cabin-like house we found abandoned.

I looked back to see the rest of the flock circling the girl. She was smiling and laughing with joy as she did intricate aerial maneuvers. I had to admit, watching her made me realize even more how much I loved to fly. "I wouldn't call it trust. More like an understanding. She's obviously been through what we have." All of a sudden, they all did a single swoop and banked right in front of us. The girl was whistling the entire way for Iggy to follow. The girl was the first one to land.

She laughed with a high-pitched chirping sound and clapped her hands. "I can fly freely now!" Fang and I exchanged glances then waited for everyone else. They walked over and smiled. Even Iggy, the magical blind wonder.

Gazzy tugged on my arm. "Max, can we get the girl some clothes?" He blushed just a little. "She may not have boobies, but…" Oh yeah, you know, I seriously did forget about that.

Smiling,I walked over to the girl. "Would you like to come inside?" She eyed the house cautiously, which happened to remind me of a hawk on a hunt. Slowly, she walked toward the door. Lifting a cautious hand, she inserted her thumb, which actually seemed more appropriate to be called a dula, into the side of the sliding door. Pulling hard, the door gave in, and opened. She squeaked and leaped back. Yelping something along the lines of. "A trap!" Or something like that. When she found there wasn't a trap, she smiled shyly at us. Angel and Nudge giggled and ran after her. The three of them ran inside and I almost dreaded it as I saw the girl's wings flitter in and out of my view.

Walking inside, I called after them. "Watch this stuff! This isn't our house!" All I heard was a bunch of giggling upstairs and the beating of wings. Sighing, I turned to face the others. "Whatever. We don't live here." Fang sighed then walked into the kitchen. The sound of the fridge opening and jars clinking assumed he was having lunch. Iggy and Gazzy left to the living room to play some video game. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. God, that game was cool, but too noisy in the wee hours of the night.

Finding nothing else for me to do, I went upstairs to see what the girls were doing. All the while, I was trying to find a name for her. Calling her the girl was really getting stale. "Girls?" When I reached the second floor, I didn't hear anyone in the rooms around me. Third floor maybe? "Nudge? Angel?" I called again as I climbed the next set of stairs, looking up into the floors above. "Hello?"

"They're in your room." Total said from the top of the third set of stairs. His little stub of a black tail wagging. "Angel said something about clothes for that strange new girl to wear." He then trotted down the stairs past me. My room? Why my room?

"Guys! Get out of my room!" Okay, it wasn't really my room, but I liked to have somewhat of privacy when we are fortunate enough to find a place to stay. And I did have something of a journal in there. A small thing I picked up along the lines while flying from Washington to New York. I don't think that store is missing it very much.

"Max! We're in my room!" Nudge called from the room next to mine.

I walked into the room. "Total said you were in my room." Angel stood in front of a walk-in closet as Nudge sat on the queen-sized bed. This room must have belonged to a teenage female. The walls were a light violet with some patches of lighter rectangles spot on the walls from where posters must have hung. There was a vanity mirror in the corner with some old remnants of make-up and powder stuff. On top of a dark blue dresser was an old hamster cage that was filled with fowl smelling newspaper shreds. When we got here, the occupier was found moldy on its back within the mustard yellow cage.

Nudge smiled while she lay back on the plain white mattress. "Of course he would. He was quite miffed by you calling him a flea-bitten mutt." She unfolded her wings as she crossed her hands behind her head. I had the same picture of her in that pose above the dresser in my room. Actually, I got a picture of all of us flying over a big lake. The perfect snapshot for any crackpot journalist to get their hands on. I didn't say anything to her as I looked over at Angel. She was just standing there.

"Waiting for something?"

She smiled back at me, her wings out of her shirt, resting behind her. "Yeah, we're waiting for Kestrel. And don't worry about a journalist getting their hands on us. I'll take care of anything that happens to our flock." Her eyes glinted with a light mischievous intent. Something tells me, I'm probably going to have to have that heart-to-heart talk with her soon. Hopefully.

"Did you just call the girl Kestrel?" I asked when I realized she spoke of the girl. "You guys chose a name already?"

Nudge sat up. "Yeah. We named her Kestrel because when she flies fast, she twitters about like an American Kestrel. Her sleek form also gives her a beautiful look and those birds are really, really pretty. Don't you like American Kestrels? I like them. How come I couldn't have a name like a bird? Like Robin? No, that's too obvious. Oh! How about-"

"Did I put this on right?" Nudge's sentence was interrupted when the girl, er, Kestrel stepped out of the closet.

Well, she was dressed, but not the right way. The shirt she was wearing was one of Nudges and it was supposed to button down the front, but she accidentally buttoned it down the back. How she did, I don't know. There was a tank top underneath and it looked like she was more comfortable wearing that without the shirt. Maybe because the buttoned shirt was a long-sleeved and even though her wings fold back against her arm, you could see the pain on her face.

"Here." I said softly, walking over to her. "Let's get this thing off." Unbuttoning the shirt, I saw something strange on the back of her neck and shoulders. I looked closer and saw they were feathers! Tiny auburn pinfeathers. They went form her hairline to her back and covered a lot of her shoulders. When I saw her from the front, I hadn't noticed. "So, you have a name now? Kestrel, is it?"

She nodded. "Uh huh. Kestrel is a nice name. Do you like it?"

"Yes I do." I smiled as I answered. She was a sweet little girl. Almost like my Angel, but no one could ever take my baby's place. No one. When I unbuttoned the last button, I slipped it off her so all she wore was the black tank top.

"Thank you." With that, Angel, Nudge, and she walked out of the room. I heard their footsteps on the stairs, but it wasn't long before I heard them laughing and running footsteps.

Sitting down on the bed, I rested my head in my hands. Too much was happening today. Not all bad I guess, but there were things that needed to be found out. Just who did make Kestrel? What was that Screecher? Are Jeb and Ari in on this? Are they even still alive? What about that second Max? Did she survive the sonic explosion? What is Kestrel? Some avian being that is far greater up the genetic ladder than us?

"_**Max!**_" Angel screamed at the top of her lungs as a loud crashing sound erupted from downstairs.

I was out of the room in a flash and already falling from the top floor. The ground came fast, so I unfolded my wings to lessen the impact. When I landed, I sprinted into the living room, and saw a hole in the wall. At first, I thought it was an Eraser attack, but that's when I saw Gazzy and Iggy's sheepish grins and Fangs slightly bemused scowl. "Gazzy! Iggy! Will you stop making those stupid bombs?"

"Oh, but why Max? They make things so much easier to track you." My blood ran cold at the sound of a most unwelcoming voice. We all turned to see Ari standing in the hole in the wall.

"Ari?" I gasped more in shock that he was alive than the changes that he sustained.

He growled and held up a furry fist, claws nearly digging into his own skin. "Yeah? Like the changes you pathetic vermin?" His other fist, he held up a metal one. Automail is probably the closets word. Like that character from Full Metal Alchemist. Ari's arm was like that up to his elbow then it was normal Eraser furry skin. One of his eyes was a fake. It was one of those steel balls with a red laser for a pupil. He was missing an ear. How on earth did he sustain that much damage from Iggy's sonic bomb?

"Max, he's the only one." Angel whispered.

"Good." I whispered back. "Fang! Now!" Fang lunged from his spot, he had been moving closer while we all stared in shock. He managed to get a jab into Ari's stomach, but there wasn't so much as an _oof _from the guy.

_What the heck? Did he get tougher skin or something too?_ I lunged at the guy, my wings beating to keep me in the air, with my fists outward I hit him with such a force we both went tumbling outside. Rolling once, I tucked in on my knees and jumped into the air just in time to avoid being punched in the back. "Jerk! Let me guess. Jeb did that to you, right?" I was over his head, glaring down at him. The rest of the flock was in the air, circling high above me, even Kestrel.

Ari's eyes set on the girl. "What is that?" She darted down at him, her feet out as she kicked him right in the neck. Beating her wings fast, she rose high above him before he could swipe at her. "Little pest!" He snarled at her as he unfolded his big leather wings. I was right when I said before the Erasers were getting better at flying. All Ari did was jump in the air and his wings kept him up and going! He was heading straight for Kestrel!

"_**Ari!**_" I shouted, my voice cracking like thunder. "Your fight's with me, not her!" There was no need to use my new ability, but I used it anyway. I surged forward at unspeakable speeds and slammed right into his side. This time, I finally heard the air whoosh out of his mouth and lungs. A very pleasing sound I might add, but seeing Ari changing and becoming less and less human hurt me a little.

Why did we have to fight? Why did Jeb and the other twisted scientists have to do this? What was the point?

Fang swooped down from above and grabbed Kestrel. She fought against it, but in the end, was dragged away from the battle. "I want to help!" I heard her say.

"Max! Move away!" Iggy shouted as he flew straight at Ari. I folded my wings and dropped backwards. He placed something on Ari's arm and darted away. Ari hollered something as the bomb detonated. The explosion hurt my ears as I flew again. I was almost scared to look at what was now Ari.

When I looked, I was surprised to see him alive. Then I saw why. Ari held up his fake arm, but it wasn't really an arm anymore. More like broken metal and hanging zapping wires. He tilted his head back and let out a blood-curdling howl that sounded more human than wolf. Without as much as I nasty remark, he beat his large wings and flew away. I saw blood dripping from his body as he vanished over the tops of the trees.

My heartbeat finally slowed when I was sure he wasn't coming back. "Report." I said loudly. Not yelling. For some reason, I couldn't yell. My legs felt like rubber, and not the usual way when I flew for a long time. No. My whole body was partially numb because of the changes Ari had sustained. He was losing his humanity one day at a time.

Fang came back with a struggling Kestrel. "We're fine." He let her go.

She hovered and glared at him. "I wanted to help!"

Gazzy and Angel flew close to me. "We're all right."

Iggy nodded. "Yep, did the blast hit anyone else? Max?"

"No. I'm fine."

Nudge hovered near Kestrel. "Do you know what Erasers are?"

She looked at us all and grinned. "Yeah. They're the Screechers' rivals."

Now I wasn't only numb and guilty, but now confused and very worried. Just what was the deal with this bird girl? What wasn't she telling us?


	4. Pass an enemy, fail a friend, time to go

**Sheik: **Hey, I had to re-fix this chapter because of a few mistakes. Thank you Angelan for that. Oh, and Anonymous person, what is a WTWB character? Well, I don't own Maximum Ride.

* * *

An hour or so after the whole ordeal, everyone was lounging in the kitchen. Yes, they were lounging in the kitchen. I walked in on them. "What are you guys doing?" 

Fang hoisted a backpack over his shoulders. "We're packing up."

"Packing up?" When did I tell them to do that? "Why didn't anyone inform me of this?" Gazzy stuffed half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his mouth. Iggy was screwing something into what looked like a tiny metal box. Angel and Nudge were packaging different plastic containers full of food. "Hello? Anyone care to answer?"

"There's a smell of death in the air." Someone said behind me.

I jumped and whipped around to see Kestrel. She was dressed in different clothes and her hair was dripping wet from a recent shower. "Don't scare me like that!" Her words sunk in. "The air smells like death?"

She nodded, eyes wide. "Total doesn't even smell them yet. About two or three miles into the woods. Hunters. They're here for us. I can taste the danger. We have to leave!" Her feathers were ruffled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Different stories bring different dangers. Dance with the dreamer, Max. You need to learn. The Voice whispered in my mind. I was getting tired of the philosophy lessons.

"All right. Everyone in the backyard. We'll take off from there." Before I even walked two steps, I realized I couldn't leave yet. My photographs of the flock. They were in my room!

"I got them Max." Angel piped up as she ran past me to the sliding door. Thank the Lord to that then.

"All right. Everyone move and don't come back for anything." We all charged into the backyard and looked around. The sun was setting under the trees, the sky a brilliant blaze of red and gold. Before I unfolded my wings, something was dropped in my hand. A backpack. I looked over to see Fang.

"Thought you might need this." He gave me one of those rare smiles then unfolded his ominous black wings. With that, we all flew away from the cabin that could have been our home.

_Of course it can't. People lived there at one point. They'll be back again. _I was thinking again as I flew in front of everyone. _Besides, Ari knows where it is now._ _Heck, he knows wherever we are because of me!_ The arm that housed the chip had a noticeable scar from when I tried to saw my arm off with a shell. Just thinking about it brought back the pain.

"We have to get as far from this place as we can." Kestrel spoke up from the rushing wind. She was gliding along the stream of air that was cradling us.

Iggy looked down at Total with his black sunglasses on. The Scottish dog was half-asleep in his jacket. "You're fired." Total gave a half growl then snuggled deeper into his jacket. Iggy laughed softly he stared ahead. "So, where are we going now?"

"Back to New York." When I said this, everyone besides Fang and Kestrel cheered with joy. "Not for the fun of it! We need to get our facts straight is all, and that place seems to be the easiest place to avoid Screechers."

"Aw, I was hoping we could go to Florida to visit Disney World again." Nudge whined playfully. I rolled my eyes while looking ahead. Kestrel pulled up beside me. Her arms jutting forward, wings spread beautifully, scooping then pushing the air out of her way. She made it look so simple. She made it look like rowing a boat. No, she made it look a like a bird.

Our wings found a rhythm and we coasted together. She was smiling while looking ahead. Her long raven black hair whipping behind her like a silk scarf. The sky glowed with a lovely light in her eyes. She had that all over childlike innocence of a little girl. Like Angel, or something.

Finally, one of us spoke, and it was her. "What's in New York?" She peered over at me, green eyes examining, waiting.

I folded my stopped flapping to glide for a while. "It's the closest place to home at the moment."

"Wasn't that house yours?" She folded her wings a few degrees and dipped under me then coming up on my other side. Her aerial dexterity was amazing.

The Gasman flew up next to her. "No. We found that house. No one lived there, so we stayed there."

She looked over us all. "You guys don't have a home?"

We all shook our heads. Nudge smiled sadly. "Hard to have a home without parents and safety. Do you have a mommy or a daddy?"

"A mommy or daddy? What the heck are those?" Her question shell-shocked us.

"You don't know what a mom or dad is?" Fang asked. Yes, Fang, the silent wonder asked a question. Actually, he had begun to talk more. Maybe this is a sign! Pft, yeah right.

Kestrel performed a somersault then did a little loop and glided beside Fang. "Nope. What are they?"

Gazzy smiled as he answered. "A mom and dad are who take care of you while you grow older. They teach you, feed you, protect you, and love you." His smiled wavered as he went into thought. We all get a little emotional when we think of parents. Since Iggy's discovery and pain, we tried avoiding the whole subject. It hurt me to see how bad it hurt Ig, even if he didn't say it outright.

The flock and Kestrel were quiet for a while. I listened to the rushing wind around me, feeling the rough pull of the air tugging on my clothes and feathers, and loving everything about it. We flew above the clouds so the ground was gone. The sky was dark and filled with sparkling diamonds. Magical. As we began to descend into the cloud again, Iggy started to sing "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. Hey, I had to admit, the boy could croon.

"Guys, we're gonna have to stop somewhere." Kestrel spoke up after the song was finished.

I looked at her. "Why?"

"It's going to storm." She answered, her nose quivering. Was she smelling the air?

Before I could ask, Total yipped. "She's right. I can smell it." He started quivering in Iggy's jacket. Off in the distance, I heard the low rumble of thunder. When I thought it was too far off, a flash of lightening came a little too close to us.

"Holy crap!" Nudge screeched. She swooped down and accidentally knocked into Gazzy.

"Hey! Watch it!" He yelped as he dropped a little. Beating his wings faster, he reached us again.

Nudge was holding her heart as the wind picked up and dark cloud rolled over the starry sky. "Can we land? Please? I want to land! There's no need in getting struck by lightening now! Please?" I looked down and saw trees. Yeah. Trees. Wasn't there a town near here or something? We could rent a room in a motel or something. I still had this card.

"There's a cave down there." Kestrel piped up as she folded her wings and shot downward toward the trees. I exchanged glances with everyone then followed her. Folding my wings a few degrees, I shot down as well. It was as if I was riding an air flume at dangerously fun speeds. Amusement parks had nothing on this!

It started to downpour as soon as we reached the trees. I landed a little too rough and shook myself off. "Kestrel?" Trees. Trees and darkness. "Kestrel!"

"Over here!" I saw a flicker of silver and headed for it. Fang was beside me as we reached her. She was standing inside a cave on the side of a hill. She didn't look nearly as soaked as we were. "Get inside! It's dry!" We shuffled in then waited. The rain didn't seem anywhere near to stopping.

"Goody." Fang muttered as he sat near the back of the cave, shaking his head and wings dry.

Angel and Gazzy sat next to Iggy and Nudge as they all shook themselves off. Kestrel was standing near the front of the cave not doing anything. Her feathers were ruffled as she tapped her foot.

"Something wrong?" I asked while fanning my wings.

She didn't look at me. Just shook her head. "Nothing's wrong." Then she smiled. "This is good. Screechers can't fly in storms like us. We're safe for now." Her foot continued to tap. It wasn't just random tapping. She was tapping a rhythm to a song I knew.

"You heard of Panic! At the Disco as well?" I asked while tapping my foot as well.

She nodded. "As we flew, I heard it from a car on the road."

I stared at her. _From a car? The road was a good twenty-three or more miles below us at the beginning. _"Just how good is your hearing?"

"There's a pond about a mile from here right now. There are three fish fighting over the same frog to eat. Two foxes are barking to find their hiding spot to hide from the rain. Fang is singing Wings of a Butterfly by HIM."

Looking back at Fang, I saw him slink forward. "Wings of a Butterfly?"

He looked at me from over his shoulder. "It's a good song. Drop it." Hm, sounded girly to me, but if it's sung by HIM then it must be good.

The rain didn't seem to want to let up anytime soon, so I sat down and sighed. "Looks like we'll be camping here for the night." When I didn't get an answer, I looked back. "Guys?" I smiled. Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy were all leaning against each other asleep. "You going to sleep to Fang?" He made a light grunting sound, which sounded oddly like _hn _then laid down on his side. _Gee, thanks for the answer buddy._


End file.
